Page 104 of Whispers of Wisteria

This man was going to kill me with his mood swings.

“I’ve missed you,” he added, touching the ends of my hair. “You should sit in on one of my classes.”

“Or mine!” Miles’s eyes shone as he stared down at me. “Gloria wouldn’t even care.”

What in the world?

Still, my skin hummed as their praise filled the air. I bit my lip and touched my toe against the floor.

“Thanks…” I breathed, feeling shy.

Why were there butterflies in my stomach? I pulled at a lock of my hair, twisting it around my finger as I glanced between the two men.

Why was it getting hotter?

“What in the world are you—” Bryce began, looking between us, but his question ended abruptly. His annoyed, lax posture shifted, and his features snapped to sharp alertness.

“You cast an enchantment,” he told me, his tone almost accusing.

“I guess?” I tried to focus on him. Anything to distract me from Miles and Damen. They seemed to be larger than usual, or maybe I was smaller. But, anyway, it was beginning to feel a bit suffocating.

“You can end it now,” Bryce said.

I released Miles’s hand. He reached out and trailed his finger along my elbow, and I pressed both my hands to my mouth. Meanwhile, Damen’s hair-grooming technique was growing stronger and less gentle.

I stared at Bryce. “I-I don’t know how…”

My brother seemed to be expecting something, but I couldn’t tell what. It was getting harder to breathe, and Damen and Miles were strangely imposing.

I implored him quietly with my eyes.

Help me.

Bryce sucked in a breath, shoulders squaring, as his attention moved from my face to the two men beside me. I could have sworn his lips quirked—but that could also have been my imagination lost in a moment of panic—because when he moved,grabbing my arm and pulling me to him, his expression was the picture of seriousness.

“Hey!” Damen rounded on Bryce. “Why did you—”

Damen was moving more slowly than usual, and Bryce side-stepped him easily. While he stumbled, Bryce crashed his elbow into his back.

Miles stood still and shook his head. He didn’t even blink when Damen crashed to the floor.

“I’m impressed that you’ve held on this long,Miles,” Bryce said, moving between us. The way he emphasized Miles’s name caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand. “You even had the foresight to send Anthony for help. Because of that, I’ll give you a chance to come to your senses before I’m forced to knock some sense into you.”

“Oh, shut up.” Miles clenched his fist. The previous look of confusion had vanished. “Don’t try to use your magic on me. I only want to hold her hand.”

“Fuck you,” Damen responded. He was already back on his feet, but it was Miles he was addressing. “You’ve been with her enough. It’s my turn now.”

“Give it up. It’s not my fault she likeseveryonebetter than you,” Miles snapped.

“It’s not fair!” Damen sounded like a petulant child. However, the way he rolled up his sleeves was anything but harmless. “She’s not supposed to like you more.”

“What do you expect?” Miles crouched in a fighting stance. “It’s your fault. You’d have a better chance if you stopped being so fake.”

The two lunged toward each other, colliding in a flurry of fists.

I gasped and moved to them, but Bryce thrust his arm out in front of my face.

“Let them go.” Bryce was unperturbed at the violent display.